Apple’s Retina Display featured on both the iPhone and iPad is one of the hottest displays on a handset to date, and it is one of the key selling points for both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Originally manufactured by LG, the display features a 326 PPI pixel density on a 3.5-inch display with an 800:1 contrast ratio. The eye cannot even make out the individual pixels, but the Retina Display is now being trumped. LG has announced a new 5-inch smartphone screen featuring a full 1080p HD resolution, a 440 PPI pixel density, and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Can you imagine HD movies on this display?

Such a high quality display is causing a few red flags to be thrown up. The first is battery life. This display has to drain that sucker fast by requiring a lot of power for so many pixels. Second is the need for a GPU that can power something that high. Do not be mistaken, though. This has to look amazing.

According to LG, the display will be available by Q3 and should be ready to ship in phones shortly after—ideally before the holidays. We are excited to get our eyes on this bad boy to check it out. You can peruse the full press release (via Engadget) after the break for all the juicy details.

LG Display Develops World’s First Full HD LCD Smartphone Panel

5″ Full HD display, creating perfect cloud computing environment

Seoul, Korea (May 28, 2012) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display, introduced today a 5″ Full HD LCD panel for smartphones – the highest resolution mobile panel to date. Allowing smartphone users to view Full HD content in the same quality as on TVs and monitors, LG Display and its new panel significantly advances the cloud computing experience widely considered the next major internet trend.

LG Display’s 5″ Full HD LCD panel is a step forward past existing mobile display technology. The LCD panel based on AH-IPS (Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching) technology features 440ppi and 1920×1080 resolution, providing for the first time Full HDTV quality on a smartphone. With 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, the panel is also 0.5 inches larger, 2.2 times denser in pixels, and 1.3 times more advanced in ppi than the preceding 4.5″ panel at 329ppi and 1280×720.

“As smartphones become increasingly valued for how well they do multimedia and with the rapid growth of LTE enabling faster large file transfers, our new 5″ Full HD LCD panel is certain to prove a significant asset to the mobile market,” said Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. “With the world’s highest resolution smartphone display, LG Display continues to remain a step ahead in developing the most innovative in display technology products.”

The display solution of choice for smart devices, LG Display’s AH-IPS is the technology behind the new Full HD LCD display. With the high density of AH-IPS, the naked eye is unable to distinguish between individual pixels. AH-IPS panels also express the original color of images highly precisely, and feature a wide viewing angle as well as stable display image and rapid response speed when touched. Finally, with its brighter light transmission and lower power consumption, AH-IPS is ideal for use in outdoor settings.

The 5″ Full HD LCD panel from LG Display is expected to be released during the second half of this year, and will be on exhibit for the first time at SID 2012 Display Week in Boston starting June 4.